• Bachelor of Arts in Art History & Psychology, Carleton University

• Graduate Certificate in Victimology, Algonquin College 

• Master of Arts in Women’s Studies, University of Ottawa

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Ottawa

• Emergency Nursing (Critical Care) Specialty Certificate, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)

• Member, Chair, Backbone Table, Nanaimo Community Action Team (NCAT) (since January 2019)

  • Community Action Teams (CATs) have been serving communities since 2019, currently mandated to focus efforts on civic engagement and collective action, prioritizing the development of action plans, strengthening multi-sector collaboration, and identifying and addressing barriers within each unique community. They are convening multi-stakeholder tables that include representatives from the health sector, non-profit sector, business community, local government elected officials, and staff among others. An important part of the table is hearing from people with lived and living experience.

• Vice-President, Board of Directors, Harm Reduction Nurses Association

  • a Canadian national organization with a mission to advance harm reduction nursing through practice, education, research, and advocacy.

• Co-Founder & Faculty Co-Lead, VIU Harm Reduction Alliance

• For more on Sarah’s advocacy efforts in our community, please see Media Summary for Sarah Lovegrove

• Community and social justice advocacy for 20+ years with experience supporting people who have been impacted by human trafficking, sexual violence, poverty, homelessness, mental health and Toxic Drugs; advocating for policy change at local, provincial, and federal levels. 

• Registered Nurse since 2016 with practice experience in Ontario and BC in Emergency Departments, Forensic Nursing (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner), Acute Care Surgical Nursing, Harm Reduction and Prescribed Alternatives. 

• Educational Consultant, Trauma & Violence Informed Practice and Psychedelic Harm Reduction.

• University Professor of Nursing since 2022 – grateful to be working with, inspired by, and learning from the future generations of our community’s healthcare professionals. 

• For comprehensive professional and educational history, see Sarah’s LinkedIn profile

Sarah was born in a small-town in Northern Ontario on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, within lands protected by the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850. She was raised by a librarian and an elementary school principal in a loving home where knowledge, education, and community engagement were encouraged as a means of empowerment. From a young age, Sarah was always encouraged to use her voice for positive change. Her undeniable natural leadership skills were recognized and uplifted by teachers and mentors early in her educational journey. 

Upon moving to Nanaimo in the summer of 2017, she initially lived in the downtown core and immediately recognized the ways in which this community reflected her own personal values of connection, humanity, and mutual support. 

Deeply impacted by the reality of what she was witnessing on the streets of Nanaimo and in the NRGH Emergency Department, she began volunteering with a peer-led non-profit organization in November 2018 to support people living within encampments and those most at risk of death and harm related to the increasing toxicity of illicit drugs. 

Sarah feels a deep spiritual connection and responsibility to our environment and natural world. Given the opportunity, she would spend most of her time in the forest or by the ocean with her therapy dog, Luna, in admiration of the interconnectedness and resilience demonstrated by our environmental relatives. 

Sarah is a survivor with nearly a decade of lived experience healing from trauma experienced in her nursing career and beyond. Embodying strength, resilience, and post-traumatic growth, her journey is a testament to what is possible when a person is provided with the proper environment and opportunities to heal, including safe and secure housing, a stable livable income, extended health benefits, access to both Western therapeutic and traditional healing practices, as well as a robust community of support.